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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

TIE, n.¹, v. Also ty(e); teh (Ags. (Dundee) 1964 D. Phillips Hud yer Tongue 7); †tee (see etym. note). Sc. usages. [tɑe; †ti]

I. n. 1. Some kind of cord or fastening, a brooch, gorget or the like.Sc. a.1830 Erlinton in Child Ballads No.8. A. vii.:
She's putten on her breast a silver tee, An on her back a silken gown.

2. An obligation, a burdensome responsibility, constraining or restricting force. Gen.Sc. Also in dial. or colloq. Eng. In pl. in phr. to lay the ties to, to oblige or constrain (someone).Sc. 1727 P. Walker Remark. Passages 12:
Useful to Ministers, in that it was a Tye upon them to be well versed in the Bible.Sc. 1752 Scots Mag. (June 1753) 294:
This is such a tie upon all the members of our family.Kcd. 1925:
She laid the ties tae 'm tae come an' do her yaird.Ork.¹ 1945:
He his a' the tie o' the hoose.

3. Fishing: a section of a fishing line, gen. having 100 hooks attached. Also in form Tae, n.², q.v.Fif. 1879 G. Gourlay Fisher Life 102:
At that time the crew carried eight “ties.” orb “hundred” of line to a hand.

†4. A trick, a piece of deceit (Fif. 1825 Jam.).

II. v. Pa.p. tiet (Abd. 1826 D. Anderson Poems 6; ne.Sc. 1972), †tyit (Ayr. 1821 Scots Mag. (April) 351), tied (Gen.Sc.), †tyed.

1. As in Eng. Sc. phrs.: (1) to tie a button, to fasten one's coat (Nai. 1930); (2) to tie up, id. (Id.); (3) tyin-back tow, a short rope or halter fastened from the bridle ring of one horse in a plough team to the bridle-ring or trace-chain of his neighbour for the purpose of restricting the sideways movement of the head (Bnff. 1930). See III. (1).

2. Gen. in pass., also with together, wi: to marry, to “splice”. Gen.Sc., also colloq. or dial. in Eng.Ags. 1790 D. Morison Poems 187:
When ance ye're fairly ty'd, and she your wife.m.Sc. 1838 A. Rodger Poems 312:
When I and my Jenny thegither were tied.e.Lth. 1899 J. Lumsden Edb. Poems 287:
Ma man was kill'd Before that we'd been foure days tied.

3. To oblige, bind, constrain. Also with up. Gen. in pa.p. tied, of persons or circumstances: obliged, certain, bound in the nature of things, inevitable (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.). Also in n.Eng. dial. Comb. to tie on, to lay the responsibility for (something) on (someone), to pass on an obligation to.Lnk. 1873 A. G. Murdoch Lilts 10:
They cannilie put owre a dram, An' tied the crack on Leather Tam.Abd. 1877 G. MacDonald M. of Lossie III. ix.:
I s' tie mysel' up till't.Fif. 1883 W. D. Latto Bodkin Papers 118:
When folk wear up into years, they are tied to fa' ahent in some things.Dmf. 1917:
It's tied to be true.Rxb. 1927 E. C. Smith Braid Haaick 23:
There's duist the yeh airt ei can com e — ei's tyed ti come bye here.

III. In combs.: (1) tie-back = tyin-back tow s.v. II. 1. (3). Gen.Sc.; (2) tie-fu, of a sack: full to the neck and ready to be tied; (3) tie-in = (1) (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.); †(4) tye-mail, mail tied up in bags; (5) tie-stane, a bond-stone, one which links the wall of one house to its neighbour, a tooth-stone bonded into an adjoining wall (Fif. 1953).(2) Abd. 1954 Banffshire Jnl. (24 Aug.):
I'm jist pittin' some bit wylins inen the pyokie, an' mebbe fan it's tie-fu' ye'll be gien me a hoise wi't onna my back.(4) Sc. 1782 Caled. Mercury (4 May):
The Tye-Mail, which had been dropped upon the road to Queensferry . . . was found the same night entire; and the Mail, with the bags contained in it, was immediately forwarded to the respective offices.